Urban and Regional Planner Develop comprehensive plans and programs for use of land and physical facilities of jurisdictions, such as towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.
Urban and Regional Planner is Also Know as
In different settings, Urban and Regional Planner is titled as
- City Planner
- Community Development Planner
- Community Planner
- Development Technician
- Housing Development Specialist
- Neighborhood Planner
- Planner
- Planning Consultant
- Planning Technician
- Regional Planner
Education and Training of Urban and Regional Planner
Urban and Regional Planner is categorized in Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Urban and Regional Planner
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Education Required for Urban and Regional Planner
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Degrees Related to Urban and Regional Planner
- Bachelor in City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning
- Associate Degree Courses in City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning
- Masters Degree Courses in City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning
- Bachelor in Sustainable Design/Architecture
- Associate Degree Courses in Sustainable Design/Architecture
- Masters Degree Courses in Sustainable Design/Architecture
- Bachelor in Real Estate Development
- Associate Degree Courses in Real Estate Development
- Masters Degree Courses in Real Estate Development
- Bachelor in Sustainability Studies
- Associate Degree Courses in Sustainability Studies
- Masters Degree Courses in Sustainability Studies
- Bachelor in Design for Human Health
- Associate Degree Courses in Design for Human Health
- Masters Degree Courses in Design for Human Health
- Bachelor in Transportation and Infrastructure Planning/Studies
- Associate Degree Courses in Transportation and Infrastructure Planning/Studies
- Masters Degree Courses in Transportation and Infrastructure Planning/Studies
Training Required for Urban and Regional Planner
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Urban and Regional Planner in different industries are
- Transportation Planners
- Chief Sustainability Officers
- Project Management Specialists
- Sustainability Specialists
- Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers
- Climate Change Policy Analysts
- Environmental Restoration Planners
- Conservation Scientists
- Landscape Architects
- Industrial Ecologists
- Government Property Inspectors and Investigators
- Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
- Emergency Management Directors
- Information Technology Project Managers
- Chief Executives
- Range Managers
- Management Analysts
- Political Scientists
- Water Resource Specialists
- Social and Community Service Managers
What Do Urban and Regional Planner do?
- Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation.
- Recommend approval, denial, or conditional approval of proposals.
- Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density.
- Advise planning officials on project feasibility, cost-effectiveness, regulatory conformance, or possible alternatives.
- Conduct field investigations, surveys, impact studies, or other research to compile and analyze data on economic, social, regulatory, or physical factors affecting land use.
- Discuss with planning officials the purpose of land use projects, such as transportation, conservation, residential, commercial, industrial, or community use.
- Keep informed about economic or legal issues involved in zoning codes, building codes, or environmental regulations.
- Mediate community disputes or assist in developing alternative plans or recommendations for programs or projects.
- Coordinate work with economic consultants or architects during the formulation of plans or the design of large pieces of infrastructure.
- Review and evaluate environmental impact reports pertaining to private or public planning projects or programs.
- Supervise or coordinate the work of urban planning technicians or technologists.
- Hold public meetings with government officials, social scientists, lawyers, developers, the public, or special interest groups to formulate, develop, or address issues regarding land use or community plans.
- Advocate sustainability to community groups, government agencies, the general public, or special interest groups.
- Develop plans for public or alternative transportation systems for urban or regional locations to reduce carbon output associated with transportation.
- Evaluate proposals for infrastructure projects or other development for environmental impact or sustainability.
- Identify opportunities or develop plans for sustainability projects or programs to improve energy efficiency, minimize pollution or waste, or restore natural systems.
- Determine the effects of regulatory limitations on land use projects.
- Assess the feasibility of land use proposals and identify necessary changes.
- Investigate property availability for purposes of development.
- Conduct interviews, surveys and site inspections concerning factors that affect land usage, such as zoning, traffic flow and housing.
- Prepare reports, using statistics, charts, and graphs, to illustrate planning studies in areas such as population, land use, or zoning.
- Prepare, develop and maintain maps and databases.
- Prepare, maintain and update files and records, including land use data and statistics.
- Research, compile, analyze and organize information from maps, reports, investigations, and books for use in reports and special projects.
- Respond to public inquiries and complaints.
Qualities of Good Urban and Regional Planner
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
- Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Tools Used by Urban and Regional Planner
- 10-key calculators
- 35 millimeter cameras
- Desktop computers
- Digital camcorders
- Digital cameras
- Digitizers
- Drafting scales
- Global positioning system GPS receivers
- Laptop computers
- Laser printers
- Microfiche readers
- Multi-line telephone systems
- Notebook computers
- Overhead projectors
- Personal computers
- Photocopiers
- Planimeters
- Plotters
- Slide projectors
- Two way radios
Technology Skills required for Urban and Regional Planner
- 3D urban simulation modeling software
- Accela KIVA DMS
- Accela PERMITS Plus
- Accela Tidemark Advantage
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Adobe FreeHand MX
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe PageMaker
- Adobe Photoshop
- Autodesk 3ds Max Design
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Autodesk AutoCAD Map 3D
- Bentley MicroStation
- Caliper TransCAD
- Citilabs TRANPLAN
- CommunityViz
- Computer aided design CAD software
- Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Criterion Planners INDEX
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
- Data mining software
- Database software
- dBASE
- Desktop publishing software
- e-on VUE
- Email software
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Esri ArcGIS
- ESRI ArcGIS software
- ESRI ArcInfo
- ESRI ArcView
- ESRI software
- ESRI What if?
- Extensible markup language XML
- Geographic information system GIS software
- Geographic information system GIS systems
- Geomechanical design analysis GDA software
- Graphics software
- Hypertext markup language HTML
- IBM Lotus 1-2-3
- IBM Lotus Notes
- Intergraph MGE
- Interwoven software
- ITC Integrated Land and Water Information System ILWIS
- ITSpatial InterSCOPE
- Land management databases
- Leica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINE
- Location allocation decision support system LADSS
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Project
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Microsoft Word
- MultiGen Paradigm 3D GIS
- Oracle Database
- Oracle Java
- Oracle Primavera Systems
- PlanGraphics Citywide GIS Utility
- Presentation software
- RhinoSoft FTP Voyager
- RockWare ArcMap
- Sage Timeslips
- SAP software
- Scientific Software Group ModTech
- Software development tools
- Spatial decision support systems SDSS software
- Spreadsheet software
- Street address databases
- Structured query language SQL
- Tangible Media Group Luminous Table
- Telogis GeoBase
- Transportation planning software
- Trimble SketchUp Pro
- UrbanSim
- Web browser software
- Word processing software
- WorkTech MAXIMO